The Sol Duc Cabin is the latest project to come from the office of Inhabitat favorite, Olson Kundig Architects. Located in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, this small retreat is perfect for taking fishing trips to the nearby river, or spending some quality time immersed in nature. Made from materials that have been prefabricated off-site, this cute and comfortable shelter is near suspended above the ground on four stilts for minimal impact on the land.

Read the rest of The Prefab Sol Duc Cabin by Olson Kundig Architects Rests Lightly on Four Stilts

Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg

Post tags: fishing shelter, Floating Houses, green holidays, low impact housing, minimal ground impact, olson kundig architects, Prefab Housing, prefab materials, Sol Duc Cabin, Sustainable Building, washington

The Arctic has long been described as a goldmine of untapped resources, and in recent years it has been the site for some international chest-thumping and the attempted claiming of rights. But given what lies beneath, it is not hard to understand why. According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic potentially holds an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil (13% of the world’s recoverable oil reserves), up to 50 trillion cubic metres of natural gas (about 30% of the world’s natural gas reserves), and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids – not to mention assorted precious metals and minerals. As a result, the race is on for various countries to exploit these reserves. However, rightfully so, scientists are worried about the environmental damage that could be unleashed on the region.

Read the rest of Is the Arctic About to be Ravaged in a Search for Oil and Other Reserves?

Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg

Post tags: arctic environmental issues, arctic exploited, arctic gas reserves, arctic gold minerals, arctic oil geological survey, arctic oil reserves, arctic reserve resources, arctic resources, arctic resources issues, arctic russia, arctic statoil

Read the rest of Bulbous Handmade Paper Lamps By Paula Arntzen Hang Like Glowing Sculptures

Permalink |
Add to
del.icio.us |
digg

Post tags: bulbous paper lamps, green lighting, Light Fixtures, paper designs, paper lamps, Paula Arntzen, sculpture lamps

ColumnConscious life, hear me roar.

Even when I was little, I knew my grandmother was a deeply sad woman.

In fact, my earliest memory of my grandmother is the one of me listening to her weeping quietly in her bedroom when she didn’t know I was hiding in her closet (having just found a bevy of beautiful hats in striped hat boxes).

“Why is memere sad?” I may have asked my mother and father, but only they knew at the time the weight she carried, and they never answered me.

For years, my grandmother and I would play War with miniature playing cards that had images of Paris on them – the Moulin Rouge, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame – she in her comfy rocker in the corner, me on the piano bench she positioned for when I’d come over. With my three brothers and three male cousins playing touch football outside, there was no room for girls, but Memere would sit me down with some strawberry soda in a fancy glass and always make me feel special.

“Who cares about the boys,” she’d say in her French Quebecois accent, smiling, “for we’ve got each other.”

Through the years, I’d share and teach her from my reading texts from school (she with only a fourth grade education), tell her winsome stories about life as a tween, teen and finally, when she came to live with us, how much I just had to get away. Having lived in the same house my entire life and at that time, attending a local community college, I longed for travel and a chance at adventure and freedom, far away from the confines of anything comfortable, familiar.

“How much do you need to get away?” She asked.

“I feel like I’ll die if I don’t,” I said.

My grandmother told me a story of why she was going to give me money to get away, and I have never forgotten it.

Having grown up in Montreal, my grandmother was very stylish and worldly. She had big dreams of doing big things and shirked many a suitor, not feeling that commitment was her primary responsibility in life. She left Canada in her twenties and ended up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where she waitressed at a mom-and-pop restaurant until she met my grandfather. She was considered a spinster, not having married yet, and my grandfather cured her of that with a proposal for marriage.

From here, the story changes. My grandfather was, simply, a bastard. He left her alone on their honeymoon to attend an electrician’s conference, left her alone in her home for years while he had an affair with a paraplegic woman (my grandmother explained how she’d watch them from a corner drug store as they had daily lunch), left her alone as she vomited out windows from her descent into alcoholism, left her alone as she raised two children. Left her for the circus when he retired.

Left at home, she subscribed to National Geographic and collected all the center-folded maps, wrote to nuns and priests at the Vatican and Paris’ Sacre Coeur to give her strength, was never taught to drive so watched mass on television – going through the motions of blessing herself, kneeling and never getting the body of Christ placed in her mouth.

At some point, she just gave up. Gave up that she would ever see Paris, gave up drinking, gave up romantic love and settled into her rocker to play solitaire.

“I always wanted to do what you are going to do,” she said, and told me I had $10,000 to do what I wanted with. It otherwise would be mine when she died.

There was one condition: “I want to see this,” she said.

Aren’t we all destined for greatness thanks to our grandmothers?

With her money, I went to school for Italian Literature and Art in Florence, Italy, and lived in a castle with artists. I backpacked Europe by myself, exploring 13 countries. I slept in the Sahara in a goat skin tent during Ramadan. I roamed every European city’s streets, drinking strong coffee, having affairs, and when I went to Paris? I called my grandmother collect.

“What do you see? What does it smell like?” Memere asked through strangled sobs.

Jammed inside a pay phone booth staring at the Notre Dame I didn’t know what to say except: “It’s beautiful.”

When I would arrive home many months later, I would surprise them all at a family party. I would run in and my memere, so stunned, could only grab me and bury her face in my hair to see what Europe smelled like.

A few weeks ago, I was on a flight to San Francisco and passing over a very cold middle America: snow capped Rocky Mountains, frozen rivers and cities dotting the landscape out of nowhere. My grandmother died years ago, and yet I still think of her when I travel. How she would’ve felt to be all alone on a plane, touching down on another coast. How the Kerouac blood runs deep when you need to travel. How the spirit of her roams with me in every city I explore.

Between the Lines is a weekly column navigating the sometimes-sharp, sometimes-blurred lines of life and culture between city and country, between inner worlds and outer.

Image: friedchuckles

Get yourself in the mood for V-Day.

Valentine’s Day is not for everyone. But pretty much everyone can be sorted into one of two categories vis á vis the pinkest day of the year.

Category A: you experienced sweaty palms and heart-wrenching anxiety while trading Valentine’s Day cards in grammar school, afraid that no one would remember that you heart stationary, too. You were left so emotionally scarred that you inadvertently sabotage whatever romantic situation you’re in two weeks before the big day. For you, Valentine’s Day is the loneliest day of the year.

Category B: you were the type who had to employ three brown paper lunch bags instead of half of one to get all your admirations, candies and pastel colored cutouts home after the most scintillating day of the school year. You love love. You love Valentine’s Day. You will love these three Valentine’s Day decoration ideas.

1.) Order 48 mini prints from Printstagram for $12 and make a wall heart. 

2.) Create some mood lighting with a package of doilies from the craft store and a set of strung up lights. Just poke the lights through the paper.

3.) Set a romantic table with a bouquet of flowers and raspberries in your champagne. Bring out the dishes you don’t normally use and write a love note underneath the dish on an old book page.

Enjoy. If you can.

Image: Helga Weber; Loving Living Small; French Lark Spur, jaroslavd

Do we really want to see what McDonald’s is made of?

As the world’s largest hamburger fast food chain by sales, McDonald’s serves around 68 million customers per day in 119 countries. Founded in 1955 by Dick and Mac McDonald, and later run by legendary businessman Ray Kroc, McDonald’s is the best known franchise in the world, with golden arches spotted from Lebanon to the Louvre.

McDonald’s history of controversies and lawsuits is nearly as old as the company itself. Since its founding, McDonald’s has come under fire for everything from environment to health to labor practices, inspiring terminology like McJob (a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement) and critical food industry documentaries like Super Size Me. What else would you expect from a restaurant founded upon and organized around factory assembly line principles?

McDonald’s latest marketing campaign addresses the quality of their ingredients, and more specifically, the people behind those ingredients. Under the headline “See What We’re Made Of,” the campaign, created by Omnicom DDB, is heavy on video, with feel-good “Supplier Stories” from potato, lettuce, and beef growers, as well as informative looks “Inside Our Kitchens” to see how staples like the Big Mac and Egg McMuffin are made.

“We thought putting a face on the quality of the food story would be a unique way to approach this,” McDonald’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Neil Golden told AdAge. “We acknowledge that there are questions about where our food comes from. I believe we’ve got an opportunity to accentuate that part of our story.”

But how much of the story is real, and how much is just marketing? Let’s look at some of the facts.

The Good

While McDonald’s certainly isn’t the poster child for corporate social responsibility, the company has taken a number of steps toward greater transparency and more sustainable business practices in recent years. Nutritional information and ingredient lists for most of their standard menu items are available online, as well as answers to frequently asked questions like “What do you feed the cows that the beef comes from?” (answer: mostly corn). In 2008, McDonald’s opened a pilot LEED-certified “green” location in Chicago, with energy efficient equipment and lighting, high efficiency plumbing, and permeable pavement and rainwater collection for irrigation. They followed up with a North Carolina location in 2010 and a LEED-driven sustainable overhaul of their Global Headquarters. McDonald’s has also tackled packaging, cooking oil reuse, and customer awareness campaigns.

With this particular campaign, it looks like McDonald’s aim is to tap into the fresh/organic/locavore movement by presenting its ingredients as fresh and its farming partners as real people, just like you and me. The farmers chosen for “Supplier Stories” are secondary sources, contracted through McDonald’s suppliers, and they represent a cross-section of backgrounds and locations.

The Bad

McDonald’s has long been criticized for working with large-scale suppliers who have questionable environmental and animal welfare policies. Just in November, ABC News revealed that Sparboe Farms, which supplied the majority of eggs used in McDonald’s popular Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwiches, was guilty of horrific violations related to animal cruelty and hygiene. Soon after, McDonald’s ended the supplier relationship, and Sparboe vowed to “do better.”

But McDonald’s has yet to take action in response to PETA’s recent “McCruelty: I’m Hatin’ It” campaign, which calls the corporation out on inhumane treatment of chickens by their suppliers.

Says PETA: “Chickens who are raised for McDonald’s are killed using an old-fashioned method that causes millions of birds to have their wings broken and many to be scalded to death in defeathering tanks. A less cruel slaughter method—and one that is already used by McDonald’s European suppliers—is available, but the company refuses to require its U.S. suppliers to upgrade to it.”

And those are only recent scandals in a long list of controversies.

The Questionable

“Supplier Stories” presents a romantic view of American agriculture, with soft lighting, panoramic shots, acoustic background music, and farmers who emphasize the values of hard work and perseverance. In the world depicted in these videos, conventional factory farming isn’t a practice that’s harmful to the environment; it’s the American dream. The feel-good nature of the campaign glazes over many of the issues involved in McDonald’s supplier relationships, like the pesticide and migrant worker issues in the Salinas Valley where lettuce producer Dirk Giannini farms.

Plus, while the base ingredients in McDonald’s meals may come from the fairytale farms depicted in the videos, what happens to them after they hit a McDonald’s kitchen cancels out all the purported purity. McDonald’s famous french fries, for instance, contain much more than just home-grown potatoes:

Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent. CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK. *(Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

For McDonald’s to highlight the stories of the people behind their products is a step in the right direction. However, McDonald’s has yet to address in a significant way how its factory farm suppliers are harming the world they so romanticize.

Super Bowl XLVI

Indianapolis is ground zero for the 2012 Super Bowl featuring the New England Patriots and the New York Giants and all eyes are on the host city. 1st and Green is an environmental challenge hoping to cash in on the Super Bowl excitement by motivating individuals, households and teams to live more eco-consciously while promoting the city’s green initiatives in place for the sports-themed festivities.

Earning Points Through an Online Community

Turning off the water while brushing teeth and taking shorter showers are a few simple ways to make an eco-impact and the program rewards you for these activities. The program also acknowledges carpooling and reusable groceries bags. Do you use a reusable water bottle? Well, you’ll be able to log every time you refill your bottle. And if your family planted a tree than go ahead and add that to the list of Earth-friendly activities in which you’re taking part.

Shot of the the 1st and Green site

Watch the Ticker Total Climb

Individuals, households and teams can watch two tickers grow, one for carbon impact and the other for water saving. The exciting part is seeing how much of an impact some of the simplest activities make. Green living becomes even more concrete when seeing the pounds of carbon being offset and the gallons of water being saved.

How Can You Make an Impact

The site not only tracks your green living, it also offers helpful suggestions for ways to make and even greater impact. Whether packing a lunch, biking to work or sealing your home for energy efficiency, the site will help anyone become more green savvy. Once you input your daily green deeds you can share them on Facebook helping promote the activity and also reminding others how easy it is to help Mother Earth.

What Is Indianapolis Doing to Green the Super Bowl

The 1st and Green Site allows readers to see what’s being done to promote a green Super Bowl. Indianapolis, as the host city, is taking environmentally conscious promotion seriously. Food from related events will not go to waste, but will instead be given to local shelters and other social service organizations. Recycling will be used to keep items out of landfills and Super Bowl materials will be donated to non-profits or sold at low costs to keep them from being thrown away. The city is also promoting a composting program to help lower the amount of organic items thrown out. Instead, the material will be composted at the GreenCycle facility.

Have Fun While Making an Impact

Even if you can’t attend the Super Bowl you can still take part in some of the fun. Have your family get active as a household or get some friends together from work to make a game out of it. Hopefully the habits acquired will continue long after we find out if the Patriots or the Giants have earned the honor of 2012 Super Bowl champions.

{cc photo courtesy of Hawk Eyes on Flickr}

{sources: 1st and Green}

More from GLI:

1. Recyclebank and Green Your Vacation Challenge
2. Project Green Challenge
3. Green Living Ideas and Twilight Earth Form New Major Environmental Network: Simple Earth Media

But life can be different. After all, we can get ourselves back on track if we have a plan. We may not know the shortcuts but keeping the goal in our mind’s eye will get us straight to it.

To start spending less and saving more we need to change our routines and our thinking. Reducing our wants is easy to say but in order to achieve that we need to practically do or stop doing something. For example, eat out less often. Start by reducing the number of dining out step by step. You will find it harder to implement a great change from the start. So, if you usually go out dining 3 days a week, make them 2. Put aside the money that you would have spent on that 1 night out. After several months the collected sum will encourage you to make another change.

A lot of money can be saved by making small changes and each of us can do it.

Click on the infographic to see it in full size and get even more ideas on how to save money.

Infographic created by The American Institute of CPAs and the Ad Council as part of its national public service campaign, Feed the Pig.

What changes have you made in your life this year to save money?

[Photo via Shutterstock]

More from GLI:

1. 10 Ways to Green Back To School and Save Money
2. Save Water and Money, One Flush at a Time!
3. Summer Tips to Save Money and Reduce your Carbon Footprint

But not Clorox.

According to our sister site, Ecopreneurist, Clorox Company launched an app last week, that let’s you check the ingredients, right from your smart phone.

More from GLI:

1. Clorox Accuses Method of Violating Federal Laws Over Daisy Label
2. Cancer Prevention Coalition: Perfumes Contain Toxic Ingredients
3. Berries – Ingredients in Anti-Aging Skincare

Valentine’s Day has the unfortunate reputation of a Hallmark holiday, co-opted by corporate culture with glitter tags, sugar overdose, and stressful, overbooked restaurant outings.

Infuse your Valentine’s gifts with a little personal touch this year by cooking your own special meal for your love or making your own gifts, like these deliciously divine chocolate truffles.

This recipe is for vegan truffles, but you can also make the regular kind. They’re equally as delicious

Ingredients:

3/4 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup cold water
1 lb bittersweet chocolate
cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Put cashews and cold water in a blender and blend at high speed for 1-2 minutes.
2. Scrape the sides down and blend again until the mixture is the consistency of heavy cream.
3. Heat the chocolate in a double boiler until it’s all melted. If you don’t have a double boiler, place the chocolate in a bowl inside a pot of boiling water.
4. Cool the chocolate until it’s comfortable to work with and fold in the cashew cream. Make sure not to stir too fast or you’ll create bubbles.
5. Cool in the fridge for 2 hours. Alternatively, you can also freeze them for half and hour and then transfer the fridge for a faster cooldown time.
6. After they’ve thoroughly cooled and hardened, take out a small ball, and shape it with your hands. You can also use a melon baller. Roll the truffle ball in cocoa powder and store in the fridge or freezer.
7. Repeat until finished.

For more variety, you can try adding peanut butter filling, crushed nuts, puffed rice, or liqueur. You can also roll the truffles in shredded coconut, crushed nuts, powdered sugar, cinnamon, or other spices.

For a Valentine’s Day twist, you can add a berry jam inside such as strawberry or raspberry jam, and decorate your truffles with half a raspberry on top. For the adventurous ones, you can also try to shape your truffles into a heart shape.

Use fair trade organic chocolate when possible!

This recipe is adapted from Food.com

[CC Image by frangrit via Flickr]

More from GLI:

1. A Chocolate Glossary
2. A World Without Chocolate
3. Healthy, Organic Chocolate Indulgences